Trick-or-treaters beware, this Glendale neighborhood has lost its sweet tooth

Halloween vandalism on Kenneth Road last year has residents wary.

October 29, 2012|By Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Police plan to step up enforcement on Kenneth Road in Northwest Glendale this Halloween after roughly 3,000 trick-or-treaters swamped the neighborhood last year, bringing with them trash, vandalism and a whole lot of headaches for residents.

Thousands of Halloween revelers from Glendale and Los Angeles descended on Kenneth Road last Oct. 31 to get candy while other trick-or-treaters simply cruised and vandalized the neighborhood, Glendale police Lt. Bruce Fox said.

“It really overwhelmed the neighbors,” he said.

Residents reported egging incidents, overturned trash cans, an abundance of trash on the streets and broken light fixtures and sprinklers due to the amount of teen trick-or-treaters who were strolling around well into the night.

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Some teens were drinking alcohol, using drugs and looking for girls, Fox added.

So police this year have decided to close Kenneth Road from Grandview Avenue to Highland Avenue to vehicle traffic on Wednesday, allowing neighborhood residents only, Fox said.

Police will also monitor Pacific Avenue.

Uniformed and plain-clothed officers will patrol the upscale neighborhood, as well as the department motor officers.

At 10 p.m., police will enforce curfew rules, and anyone under the age of 18 who is still in the neighborhood could be cited or arrested.

Many residents have also agreed to stop handing out candy after 8 p.m., police said.

“We are going to take a zero tolerance approach for all vandalism and alcohol incidents,” Fox said, adding that police were committed to returning the “neighborhood back to the home community.”

Kenneth Road wasn't always a trick-or-treat destination.

Resident Dorothy Cullen moved to the neighborhood in 1993 and recalled when she would hand out candy to about 300 kids.

“I love Halloween,” she said. “It's one of my favorite holidays.”

But as the years passed, the number of trick-or-treaters swelled and Cullen found herself running out of 800 packages of candy by 7:30 p.m.

Kenneth Road, she said, was becoming a “party street.”

Police say families have been drawn to the neighborhood because of the Halloween-themed decorated homes and socioeconomic issues. Another attraction is that Kenneth Road is flat, unlike some of the surrounding hilly streets.

Local high school students, police said, also enjoy visiting the area on Halloween.